A Pope And Some Pizza

Growing up in a suburban area packed with row homes, apartments, and strip malls meant a windfall of candy every Halloween night.  Heavy pillowcases FILLED with the stuff.   

At the end of our night of begging for candy, we'd drop off our trick-or-treat bags and walk a couple of blocks to a strip mall with a pizza shop at the end of the long row of stores. Each Halloween they gave out free slices of pizza. That's a pretty cool thing to do (though they were about half the size of a standard pizza slice [I don't blame them as there was a perpetual line of local kids stretching out the door and winding around the building]). One year, as we got down there, my brother's Pope costume got the attention of some older kid dressed as a police officer. Gun pulled; he started yelling "IT'S THE POPE! LET HIM THROUGH!!!  LET HIM THROUGH!!!!"  My brother in his cardboard Mitre got an escort and a lot of attention.  Me, in my would-never-do-that-today costume, received no escort at all. Thankfully, I still got pizza.

Now this is the neat part.  As part of this ritual of dropping off our candy bags at home and getting free pizza, we would then head off to a neighborhood near that strip mall for what I can only describe as a Halloween variety show.  To this day I have no idea who organized the event (or who built the massive wooden stage in the center of a terrace).  But we all knew it was going to be there... when trick-or-treating was over.  When Halloween was ending.  

I recall lots of lip-synching routines, mostly from teens dressed as their favorite heavy metal bands or singers like Mick Jagger or Tina Turner.  I can recall a magician at one point and maybe a comedian.  We stood in the audience in that cold October 31st air clapping and cheering and laughing.  After it ended, the pack of friends with whom I trick-or-treated would head back to our homes on near-empty streets.  Walking past darkened porches and jack-o-'lanterns with dying flames, as each of us parted ways (to be reunited with our candy loot and to head off to bed).  Going to a Catholic School meant that the day after was a day without school... making the Halloweens of my youth even MORE glorious.  

I haven't thought of that Halloween concert in a long time.  I wonder who organized it... and who took it all down after. 

Here's a previously-posted photo of us on that incredible night of faux police escorts and wonderful Halloween pizza (just ignore my costume).

Sci-Phi Film Festival

A local theater had its second annual Sci-Phi Film Fest this past weekend and we made an amazing weekend out of it.  Never EVER thought I'd see CLOSE ENCOUNTERS or ROBOCOP on the big screen ever again.  The festival started out on Friday night with a 35mm print of MARS ATTACKS!, and it's funny how dated that one has become.  Though seeing it with a packed house was a blast.  KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE was the second feature.  Saturday night was bananas with ROBOCOP and SCANNERS.  Based on the crowd reaction, I think ROBOCOP was the highlight of the weekend.  It definitely was for us.  That final scene in the boardroom as justice is served to Dick Jones was incredible -the audience roared and cheered and clapped, and then again when Robocop was asked his name and replied "Murphy."  The event ended on Sunday afternoon with CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.  Holy moly to see that larger than life was quite an experience.  Seeing it in this setting reconfirmed my often-posted-on-this-blog sentiment that this film is a science fiction horror movie.  The abduction of the little boy Barry, being seen in a dark movie theater, was really powerful (and horrifying).  And the rumble of the massive alien craft rising over Devil's Tower was breathtaking.  

When you see old classics on a big screen, it's easy to remember why going to the movies was such an amazing thing in the past (and why it really isn't these days).  You can feel how so much in these films was specifically designed to be on a massive screen in a darkened theater.  And you can sense how the studios strived to give us something original, something none of us had ever seen before.  

Below are some photos we snapped of this neat weekend.  

Halloween Pizza

When a favorite pizza joint decorates like they're on a sitcom's Halloween special.

Mark Your Calendars: Total Lunar Eclipse

Global Event:
Total Lunar Eclipse

Local Type:

Total Lunar Eclipse, in Pennsylvania

Begins:         

Sun, May 15, 2022 at 9:32 pm

Maximum:

Mon, May 16, 2022 at 12:11 am 1.413 Magnitude

Ends:         

Mon, May 16, 2022 at 2:50 am

Duration:         

5 hours, 19 minutes

Click below for the Eclipse Pie recipe from The House of the Devil...

More information on the eclipse here.

Thanks, Wren!  I had no idea a blood moon was coming.  And there will be pizza (but probably just pepperoni).

At Vinnie's

True Horror

I imagine these were invented for small children's parties.  I bet children would go insane at the sight of something that has two of their favorite foods sewn together like an unethical Russian experiment.

I wish I had a July 4th party to go to (no I don't) so I could bring a few of these and pretend I think it's the most brilliant invention ever.

Click below for the commercial that made me yell "This is a JOKE, right?!! It HAS to be JOKE!"

Totino Boy

Pizza

Growing up in a suburban area packed with row homes, apartments, and strip malls meant a windfall of candy every Halloween night, and a slice of pizza. At the end of our night of trick-or-treating, we'd walk a couple of blocks to a shopping area with a pizza shop at the end of the long row of shops. Each Halloween, they gave out free slices of pizza. That's a pretty cool thing to do. One year, as we got down there, my brother's Pope costume got the attention of some older kid dressed as a police officer. Gun pulled, he started yelling "It's the pope! Let him through! Let him through!" My brother in his cardboard mitre got an escort and a lot of attention, and a fat slice of pizza. All I got was pizza.